Closing youth clubs would be a cut too far

Pauline Searle Liberal Democrat County Councillor for Guildford North and Borough Councillor for Stoughton added her concerns to those already expressed in the Surrey Advertiser about Surrey County Council's 'Business Development Review' (BDR) plans to save £50 million, which will see many youth clubs close or merge across the County.

Locally, that means Bellfields and Stoughton youth clubs will close, with the idea of a new youth service for this area. But WHAT is to be provided no one knows!

There are lots of questions that need to be answered before the final decision, planned for April.

In their last inspection in 2005, OFSTED said "Surrey youth development service is a good service providing the county council with value for money." So why is this service taking such a large percentage proportion of the BDR budget reduction?

What kind of public consultation is there going to be? Is there to be one club instead of two? If so, where? One club serving communities that local people think are distinct - is that really going to work?

In the North Guildford area young people's engagement with the youth offending team is the highest in the County. How, when we require safer communities, can it be justified to remove the resources from these areas where in many cases their youth provision is the only lifeline for these young people?

There is little in Guildford that is affordable, and when asked young people say they just want somewhere to meet and socialise with their friends that is warm and safe. Surely that is not a lot to ask?

As Chair of Stoughton Youth and Community Centre and County Councillor for Guildford North, which covers Bellfield, these are some of the questions I would like answered before any decision are made.